Parents of Winter Haven Man Sue in Taser-Related Death

Monday

Mar 25, 2013 at 11:30 PM

The parents of a Winter Haven man who died after being stunned with a Taser have sued an Orlando police officer and the city of Orlando.

By RICK ROUSOSTHE LEDGER

WINTER HAVEN | The parents of a Winter Haven man who died after being stunned with a Taser have sued an Orlando police officer and the city of Orlando.Adam Spencer Johnson was 33 when he died April 22, 2011, after being stunned at Universal CityWalk in Orlando. Officer Ed Michael, the defendant along with the city, "repeatedly shot Johnson with a Taser, even after Johnson was rendered passive and defenseless, killing him," the lawsuit contends.The lawsuit was filed March 14 in the Ninth Circuit Court in Orange County by Johnson's parents, Carl and Shelly Johnson. It was filed by Vincent D'Assaro of Morgan & Morgan.The medical examiner in the Ninth Circuit ruled a year ago that Johnson died because of the way Orlando police subdued him. There were no drugs in his body, including alcohol.Johnson drove from Winter Haven to meet a friend at Universal City walk and he acted unruly, wandered around barefoot and grabbed a female Blue Man Group worker, according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation.Orlando police said Johnson did not obey commands to control himself.Prosecutors ruled Orlando officers didn't use excessive force and wouldn't face charges in the death.According to the Medical Examiner's Office, Johnson was stunned with a Taser four times, in bursts of 31, 5, 4 and 5 seconds. A police expert told The Ledger last year that anything over 15 seconds greatly increases the chances of serious injury or death.There were at least four OPD officers at the scene who were working extra-duty patrol, the lawsuit said."Without provocation on the part of Johnson, and with no legal justification or probable cause to detain or arrest (Johnson), Michael shot Johnson with his Taser, the lawsuit said The OPD had no comment Monday."It is our policy not to comment on litigation in any case," said police Sgt. Jim Young, an OPD spokesman. The lawsuit contends Orlando police aren't properly trained in Taser use, have a reputation for going overboard with Tasers and have failed to discipline anyone in the aftermath of Johnson's death.OPD knew or had reason to know that unlawful and impermissible use of a Taser by Michael and other Orlando police officers could lead to injury and damage suffered by citizens, D'Assaro wrote in the suit.The city "failed to properly and adequately train, discipline and supervise (the) defendant, Michael, and other Orlando Police Department off-duty officers providing security at CityWalk," D'Assaro wrote.He said in the lawsuit that Orlando police have done nothing since the Taser incident to ensure a similar problem doesn't happen again. Johnson's parents could not be reached to comment Wednesday.Johnson was operations manager at Crown Shredding in Winter Haven. The company owner, Jay Burns, said Johnson's parents visit the company each year for an annual party.Burns described Johnson as a "very shy, very mild mannered" man who wouldn't have hurt anyone.He said he hopes Johnson's parents win their lawsuit.

[ Rick Rousos can be reached at rick.rousos@theledger.com or 863-802-7509. ]